CX Institutional Trims Stake in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

CX Institutional decreased its position in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 12.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,039 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 152 shares during the period. CX Institutional’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GWW. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 46.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Capital Planning Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Planning Advisors LLC now owns 3,989 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,205,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 370 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 760 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $844,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 3,287 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,465,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 704 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,105.59, for a total transaction of $778,335.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 9,509 shares in the company, valued at $10,513,055.31. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,206.03, for a total value of $150,753.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $814,070.25. The trade was a 15.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 10,406 shares of company stock worth $11,634,643. Corporate insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

W.W. Grainger Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:GWW opened at $1,122.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.18. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a one year low of $870.99 and a one year high of $1,227.66. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $1,125.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,058.89.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.98 by ($0.11). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 51.78% and a net margin of 10.80%. The business had revenue of $4.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.43 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 38.95 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is presently 22.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird raised W.W. Grainger from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $975.00 to $1,230.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Baird R W raised W.W. Grainger from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $900.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America began coverage on W.W. Grainger in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $925.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $990.00 to $1,215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,140.56.

W.W. Grainger Company Profile

W.W. Grainger, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes maintenance, repair, and operating products and services primarily in North America, Japan, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, High-Touch Solutions N.A. and Endless Assortment. The company provides safety, security, material handling and storage equipment, pumps and plumbing equipment, cleaning and maintenance, and metalworking and hand tools.